


i want to take care of you

by bickz



Series: The 25 Days of Ficmas '18 [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Backrubs, Bonding, Ficmas 2018, Fluff, Friendship, Insomnia, M/M, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 04:42:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16825366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bickz/pseuds/bickz
Summary: Sleep has never come easy for Ryuji. He's become good enough at dealing with insomnia on his own (which is to just pretend it doesn't exist), but sometimes it's nice to have some help.





	i want to take care of you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mishiman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mishiman/gifts).



> i smashed this out on my keyboard in like an hour pls excuse any issues with it ajhkajs :,)))

It’s half past two in the morning, and Ryuji cannot sleep. This isn’t anything new though. He’s used to tossing and turning for hours, getting what feels like mere minutes of shut-eye before he’s being judged by the morning sun. But this time, it’s way worse because he’s at a sleepover with Yusuke at Akira’s place. Their benevolent leader begged Sojiro for days to let them spend just one night, and right when they had lost all hope, the old man finally gave in. Ryuji was so excited that he sprinted home and packed his things right away.

And that insatiable excitement is what has landed Ryuji in this predicament, this inability to shut his mind off and just let sleep take over him. When he was younger, Ryuji’s mother used to sing to him and give him gentle back rubs to help him go to sleep. Ryuji misses those days, and the thought of his mother makes him sigh wistfully as he turns over onto his other side.

As he rolls over, Ryuji finds himself face to face with a very awake Yusuke staring right back at him. The sight sartles Ryuji, and he lets out a gasped “The heck?!” before clasping his hands over his mouth. He immediately looks towards Akira’s bed, hoping that he hasn’t disturbed their host. 

“You can’t fall asleep,” Yusuke speaks up, his voice surprisingly soft.

Ryuji turns his eyes back to Yusuke, but quickly adverts his gaze when he notices the concerned frown on the other boy’s face. It seems like a stupid and childish thing to be unable to fall asleep. Only kids that are afraid of imaginary monsters in the dark have this issue, right? And Ryuji is very much not a kid anymore.

“Uh, I think I drank too much soda,” Ryuji lies and tries to laugh it off.

Yusuke doesn’t let up though, continuing to stare right through Ryuji. “You only had one can, though. And that was almost five hours ago.”

“Oh, y-yeah, uh…was it that long ago?” Ryuji wishes Yusuke would just let the subject drop and go back to sleep himself. This is painfully embarrassing.

“I can’t seem to fall asleep either,” Yusuke admits after a long beat of silence. Ryuji finally looks at the other boy and finds him now laying on his back, staring up at the glowing stars on the ceiling. “I often have a difficult time letting my mind go blank. There’s always just so much to ponder.”

Ryuji stares. “Yeah, me too.”

Yusuke glances back at the blonde and gives a small empathetic smile. “I once looked up techniques to help me fall asleep, and I read that back massages can be beneficial,” Yusuke informs Ryuji. “Would you like--”

“N-no, I’m fine!” Ryuji interrupts him, fervently shaking his head. There’s no way in hell that he’ll let Yusuke give him a back massage. Especially not in the middle of the night while they’re at Akira’s place for a sleepover. The whole thing just feels…dirty.

“Are you sure? I had read that it’s one of the most effective methods,” Yusuke insists, frowning once more.

Ryuji opens his mouth to reject the offer more adamantly, but then stops and looks away. It’s just a back rub. And Yusuke is pretty confident in this advice. What’s the worst that could happen? “Okay, fine,” he mumbles.

“Roll onto your stomach, then,” Yusuke demands immediately, and Ryuji can hear him already shifting into position. 

With a deep breath, Ryuji obeys and buries his face into his pillow, regret weighing heavy in his gut. “Why are you doing this?” he murmurs curiously, peeking up from his pillow.

“You’re my friend, Ryuji. I want to take care of you.” Yusuke sounds painfully genuine in that statement, enough to make Ryuji’s heart ache, to make his throat constrict with emotion, to make his eyes go blurry. 

Ryuji hides his face once more as Yusuke’s hand touches the center of his back. The caress is gentle, and if Ryuji didn’t know any better he would say that the other boy was hesitant. Yusuke’s hand remains still for a while before slowly moving up, over his shoulder blades, his long fingers dipping further up to curl over his clavicle, and repeats the motion for each side. It’s disgusting how good Yusuke’s warm hand feels, even through his t-shirt. Ryuji can’t help the quiet appreciative noise that rumbles in his chest.

Silence falls over them once more, only broken by the muffled sounds of Akira’s snores. At first, Ryuji was sure that he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep with Yusuke touching him, but maybe that idiot was right after all. Something about those gentle, soothing strokes coax Ryuji closer and closer to slumber, making his eyelids heavier with every press of Yusuke’s fingers. Before long, Ryuji can feel himself slipping into unconsciousness, his eyes closing for the last time and enveloping him in darkness. 

Now, if only Ryuji could get Yusuke to give him back rubs every time he couldn’t fall asleep.


End file.
